Rialto Beach Trail

Rialto Beach Trail is a 13.6 mile heavily trafficked out and back trail located near Forks, Washington that features beautiful wild flowers and is good for all skill levels. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from March until October. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.

DISTANCE

13.6 miles

ELEVATION GAIN

3316 feet

ROUTE TYPE

Out & Back

dogs on leash

kid friendly

backpacking

birding

camping

hiking

nature trips

trail running

walking

beach

views

wild flowers

wildlife

This hike is probably one of the most beautiful hikes in the area
The 1st half is an easy hike along the beach, after you pass the whole in the wall it becomes more of a rocky hike where you may need to use your hands to get pass the rocks. The rocks can be slippery unless you walk close to the wall to your right.
You can camp at the first stop if you are running low on daylight, but there is a better camp spot around the second piece of land going into the sea.
There's not too much drift wood since the many campers going there use it all, but you may be able to collect enough for a small fire.

Beautiful pebble beach with a lot of drift wood. Not easy to walk for a long time because your feet sink in the pebbles. Wear good shoes if walking the beach. Very picturesque and parking is free. Waves are intense, not for swimming.

We only went to Hole in the Rock, but even that was very enjoyable, plenty of tide pools & photo ops. If you only have time for a few beaches I would put this on your list, it had everything you expect to see, not sure I would call this easy, I never find it too easy walking on sand, unless you can stay on the sand down by the waves

Year round A+++. Used to spend Christmas Eve's out there. Take your hammock and camp out in the tree line down by hole in the wall. Have a nice beach fire with the driftwood. Take a deep breath of the sea air and love life.

Hiked out to the Chilean site and overnighted. It was a fairly easy trip though some areas were very slick and you had to climb over quite a few rocks and logs. You have to be mindful of the tides and be sure to get a ride schedule from the ranger station. Camp site where we camped used to be pretty large but has eroded away. We Had two tents but it was a pretty tight sqeeze.

Abigail S.

nature trips

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

This was the first west cost beach I've been on and it was awesome; we went on a cloudy, rainy day, but the sun was peaking out in a very ominous way. The washed up trees and the choppy waves proved to us just how unrelenting nature is. We didn't complete the whole trail, however we walked south until a sign stated not to go beyond a certain point as it was tribal land. We managed to see 2 bald eagles. Climbing over the rocks and trees was pretty difficult, but worth it. Part of the trail near the parking/picnic/camping area was completely flooded. The haystacks were amazing.

Beautiful day at Rialto. It is quite busy during the weekend, parking was full. Also many people camping up higher on the beach the entire way up the north end of the beach. The tides were too high to get to the hole and see any tide pools but it was beautiful nonetheless. If it is low tide, I would recommend actually checking out the south side of the beach were the large haystack is. We caught the end of low tide and the sand bar allows you to walk to tide pool areas on the north side of the haystack. Just be careful you don't let your guard down and get stranded!

I had an amazing time here! Though, I recommend wearing pants if you want to scale the driftwood--learned that the hard way. Also, look into tide schedules, it'll be harder to hike along the water if you constantly have to dodge waves/floating driftwood--also learned the hard way.

Trail is on the beach (and small stones) to Hole in the Wall rock formation. Beautiful views and plenty of starfish and urchins to see. Hard walking...like snow-showing at some locations. Unique beach-to-forest views, washed up Sitka giant spruce trees and rock formations.

After easily building fire, and cooking breakfast, we ventured off at low tide to access hole in the wall and it's wonderful shell fish beds. The other side of hole in the wall is completely different terrain, I am excited to make many return trips to discover more of what this has to offer. Maybe even trekking from Rialto to Lake Ozette, for week or two. Highly recommend this backpacking/camping trail to anyone! Easy access, lots of fun, wonderful experience, just respect the tides, noon and night!!!

Catch a late Ferry ride, then drive the 101 across the peninsula, which put us in late to the Rialto Beach parking lot. With headlamps and backpacks in tow, we set off up the beach at 2am. Following the cresting low night tide we reached the designated campsites after crossing a cottonwood over a washout and maneuvering the driftwood scattered beach. Upon waking the next morning with the crashing tides, pillars of ocean crafted rocks stood like beacons holding back the coming waters against the rising sun, revealing the this areas magnificent beauty.